You lean over the orchid and notice a young root pushing its glossy green tip out from between the leaves and holding it just beyond the rim of the pot. There is no path laid out in front of it: dry air on one side, damper bark on the other, the outer pot below, a…
Category: Growing
Practical, science-based guidance on growing Phalaenopsis at home, from watering and light to roots, substrates and plant health.
The Root Trilogy, Part I: The Pharmacy at the Tip of the Root
Aerial roots of Phalaenopsis have a particular talent for causing anxiety. They climb out of the pot, creep across the windowsill, lean against the glass, catch on the curtain and sometimes head towards the neighbouring plant with the air of someone who has just decided to move house. The owner watches this for a while…
The Root Trilogy, Part III: The Secret Garden
When you look at the silvery root of a Phalaenopsis, what you see is… calm. The surface is dry, pale, almost clean. After watering, it turns green within seconds, then slowly fades back to silver. It is easy to imagine that you are looking at a simple covering: a botanical sponge that catches water, passes…
Invisible Army. Part I: Who Guards the Orchids?
A small sachet hangs from a moth orchid leaf. It looks unremarkable, rather like a teabag that someone has attached to the plant instead of dropping it into a cup. It neither smells nor glows, and it makes no martial noises. Yet a breeding colony is at work inside. There are microscopic predators, their food…
Invisible Army. Part II: Hunters on the Web
On the underside of a Phalaenopsis leaf, only a few threads can be seen, as fine as scratches on glass. Beneath them, a chase is under way that the naked eye can barely follow. One mite drains the contents of the plant’s cells; another follows in its tracks. The adult pest and the adult hunter…